Migrate Python v2 to v3

This guide helps you migrate from the legacy Stagehand Python SDK to the new Stainless-based SDK with a Bring Your Own Browser (BYOB) architecture.

The new Python SDK is a pure API client. You manage the browser yourself using Playwright, Selenium, Puppeteer, or any other browser automation tool. The SDK handles only the AI-powered operations.

Overview of Changes

BYOB Architecture

You bring your own browser driver (Playwright, Selenium, etc.). The SDK is now a pure API client that handles AI-powered operations.

Session-Based API

All operations require an explicit session_id. Start a session, perform operations, and end it when done.

Multi-Browser Control

Scale browsers easily and control multiple browsers at once by passing the session ID for each browser you want to control.

Simplified Client

Cleaner initialization with dedicated parameters for API keys and configuration.

Current Limitations

The new SDK does not yet support:

Custom Python LLM client classes (e.g., model_client_options)
However, we do support custom endpoints like Bedrock or LLM proxies as long as they are OpenAI-API compatible

Step-by-Step Migration

1. Update Imports

Old SDK (v2)
New SDK (v3)

import asyncio
import logging
from stagehand import Stagehand, StagehandConfig, configure_logging

# Configure logging
configure_logging(
    level=logging.INFO,
    remove_logger_name=True,
    quiet_dependencies=True,
)

import os
from playwright.sync_api import sync_playwright
from stagehand import Stagehand

# Note: Custom logging configuration is not yet supported.
# Use standard Python logging if needed:
import logging
logging.basicConfig(level=logging.INFO)

2. Client Initialization

Old SDK (v2)
New SDK (v3)

config = StagehandConfig(
    env="BROWSERBASE",
    api_key=os.getenv("BROWSERBASE_API_KEY"),
    project_id=os.getenv("BROWSERBASE_PROJECT_ID"),
    headless=False,
    dom_settle_timeout_ms=3000,
    model_name="google/gemini-2.0-flash",
    self_heal=True,
    wait_for_captcha_solves=True,
    system_prompt="You are a browser automation assistant...",
    model_client_options={"apiKey": os.getenv("MODEL_API_KEY")},
    verbose=2,
)

stagehand = Stagehand(config)
await stagehand.init()
page = stagehand.page

SDK_VERSION = "3.0.6"

# Create the Stagehand API client
client = Stagehand(
    browserbase_api_key=os.environ.get("BROWSERBASE_API_KEY"),
    browserbase_project_id=os.environ.get("BROWSERBASE_PROJECT_ID"),
    model_api_key=os.environ.get("MODEL_API_KEY"),
)

# Start a session (returns session metadata)
start_response = client.sessions.start(
    model_name="google/gemini-2.0-flash",
    x_language="python",
    x_sdk_version=SDK_VERSION,
)
session_id = start_response.data.session_id
print(f"Session started: {session_id}")

# Connect Playwright to the Browserbase session
playwright = sync_playwright().start()
browser = playwright.chromium.connect_over_cdp(
    f"wss://connect.browserbase.com?apiKey={os.environ['BROWSERBASE_API_KEY']}&sessionId={session_id}"
)
context = browser.contexts[0]
page = context.pages[0] if context.pages else context.new_page()

Key differences:

Configuration options like dom_settle_timeout_ms, self_heal, system_prompt, and verbose are not available in the new SDK
model_name is specified when starting a session, not in the config
You must connect Playwright separately to interact with the page

Old SDK (v2)
New SDK (v3) - Option A: Playwright
New SDK (v3) - Option B: Stagehand API

await page.goto("https://google.com/")

# Recommended for simple navigation
page.goto("https://google.com/")

# Use this if you need Stagehand to track navigation state
client.sessions.navigate(
    id=session_id,
    url="https://google.com/",
    frame_id="",  # Empty string for main frame
    x_language="python",
    x_sdk_version=SDK_VERSION,
)

4. Direct Page Interactions (Playwright)

Any direct page manipulation should use Playwright’s native API.

Old SDK (v2)
New SDK (v3)

# Click using Playwright locator (this was already Playwright)
await page.get_by_role("link", name="About", exact=True).click()

# Keyboard input
await page.keyboard.press("Enter")

# Same Playwright API, but synchronous (or use async Playwright if preferred)
page.get_by_role("link", name="About", exact=True).click()

# Keyboard input
page.keyboard.press("Enter")

In the old SDK, page was a Stagehand-enhanced Playwright page. In the new SDK, page is a standard Playwright page. Direct Playwright methods work the same way.

5. AI-Powered Actions (`act`)

Old SDK (v2)
New SDK (v3)

await page.act("search for openai")

act_response = client.sessions.act(
    id=session_id,
    input="search for openai",
    x_language="python",
    x_sdk_version=SDK_VERSION,
)
print(f"Act completed: {act_response.data.result.message}")

Acting on an Observed Element

Old SDK (v2)
New SDK (v3)

observed = await page.observe("find all articles")
if observed:
    await page.act(observed[0])

observe_response = client.sessions.observe(
    id=session_id,
    instruction="find all articles",
    x_language="python",
    x_sdk_version=SDK_VERSION,
)
results = observe_response.data.result

if results:
    element = results[0]
    act_response = client.sessions.act(
        id=session_id,
        input=element,  # Pass the observed element directly
        x_language="python",
        x_sdk_version=SDK_VERSION,
    )

6. Observing Elements (`observe`)

Old SDK (v2)
New SDK (v3)

observed = await page.observe("find all articles")
if len(observed) > 0:
    element = observed[0]
    print(f"Found element: {element}")

observe_response = client.sessions.observe(
    id=session_id,
    instruction="find all articles",
    x_language="python",
    x_sdk_version=SDK_VERSION,
)
results = observe_response.data.result
print(f"Found {len(results)} possible actions")

if results:
    element = results[0]
    print(f"Found element: {element.description}")

7. Extracting Data (`extract`)

Old SDK (v2)
New SDK (v3)

data = await page.extract("extract the first result from the search")
print(data.model_dump_json())

extract_response = client.sessions.extract(
    id=session_id,
    instruction="extract the first result from the search",
    schema={
        "type": "object",
        "properties": {
            "title": {
                "type": "string",
                "description": "The title of the first search result"
            },
            "url": {
                "type": "string",
                "description": "The URL of the first search result"
            }
        },
        "required": ["title"]
    },
    x_language="python",
    x_sdk_version=SDK_VERSION,
)
extracted_data = extract_response.data.result
print(f"Extracted: {extracted_data}")

Key difference: The new SDK requires an explicit JSON schema for extraction. This provides better type safety and clearer expectations for the AI model.

8. Closing the Session

Old SDK (v2)
New SDK (v3)

await stagehand.close()

# Clean up Playwright resources
browser.close()
playwright.stop()

# End the Stagehand session
client.sessions.end(
    id=session_id,
    x_language="python",
    x_sdk_version=SDK_VERSION,
)

Important: Always clean up both Playwright and the Stagehand session. Use a try/finally block to ensure cleanup happens even on errors.

9. Async vs Sync

Old SDK (v2) - Async-first
New SDK (v3) - Sync-first
New SDK (v3) - Async

async def main():
    stagehand = Stagehand(config)
    await stagehand.init()
    await page.goto("https://example.com")
    await stagehand.close()

asyncio.run(main())

def main():
    client = Stagehand(...)

    with sync_playwright() as playwright:
        # ... setup browser connection
        page.goto("https://example.com")
        # ... cleanup

main()

import asyncio
from playwright.async_api import async_playwright

async def main():
    client = Stagehand(...)  # Client is sync, but that's OK

    async with async_playwright() as playwright:
        browser = await playwright.chromium.connect_over_cdp(...)
        # ... async Playwright operations

asyncio.run(main())

Complete Migration Example

Before (Old SDK)
After (New SDK)

import asyncio
import logging
import os

from dotenv import load_dotenv
from stagehand import Stagehand, StagehandConfig, configure_logging

configure_logging(level=logging.INFO, remove_logger_name=True, quiet_dependencies=True)
load_dotenv()

async def main():
    config = StagehandConfig(
        env="BROWSERBASE",
        api_key=os.getenv("BROWSERBASE_API_KEY"),
        project_id=os.getenv("BROWSERBASE_PROJECT_ID"),
        headless=False,
        model_name="google/gemini-2.0-flash",
        model_client_options={"apiKey": os.getenv("MODEL_API_KEY")},
        verbose=2,
    )

    stagehand = Stagehand(config)
    await stagehand.init()
    page = stagehand.page

    print(f"Session: {stagehand.session_id}")

    # Navigate
    await page.goto("https://google.com/")

    # Direct Playwright interaction
    await page.get_by_role("link", name="About", exact=True).click()

    # AI-powered action
    await page.goto("https://google.com/")
    await page.act("search for openai")
    await page.keyboard.press("Enter")

    # Observe and act
    observed = await page.observe("find all articles")
    if observed:
        await page.act(observed[0])

    # Extract data
    data = await page.extract("extract the first result")
    print(data.model_dump_json())

    await stagehand.close()

if __name__ == "__main__":
    asyncio.run(main())

import os
import logging

from dotenv import load_dotenv
from playwright.sync_api import sync_playwright
from stagehand import Stagehand

# Standard Python logging (custom Stagehand logging not yet supported)
logging.basicConfig(level=logging.INFO)
logger = logging.getLogger(__name__)

load_dotenv()

SDK_VERSION = "3.0.6"

def main():
    # Create Stagehand API client
    client = Stagehand(
        browserbase_api_key=os.environ.get("BROWSERBASE_API_KEY"),
        browserbase_project_id=os.environ.get("BROWSERBASE_PROJECT_ID"),
        model_api_key=os.environ.get("MODEL_API_KEY"),
    )

    # Start a session
    start_response = client.sessions.start(
        model_name="google/gemini-2.0-flash",
        x_language="python",
        x_sdk_version=SDK_VERSION,
    )
    session_id = start_response.data.session_id
    logger.info(f"Session started: {session_id}")
    logger.info(f"View live: https://www.browserbase.com/sessions/{session_id}")

    # Connect Playwright to the Browserbase session
    with sync_playwright() as playwright:
        browser = playwright.chromium.connect_over_cdp(
            f"wss://connect.browserbase.com?apiKey={os.environ['BROWSERBASE_API_KEY']}&sessionId={session_id}"
        )
        context = browser.contexts[0]
        page = context.pages[0] if context.pages else context.new_page()

        try:
            # Navigate (using Playwright directly)
            page.goto("https://google.com/")
            logger.info("Navigated to Google")

            # Direct Playwright interaction
            page.get_by_role("link", name="About", exact=True).click()
            logger.info("Clicked About link")

            # Navigate back
            page.goto("https://google.com/")

            # AI-powered action (using Stagehand API)
            act_response = client.sessions.act(
                id=session_id,
                input="search for openai",
                x_language="python",
                x_sdk_version=SDK_VERSION,
            )
            logger.info(f"Act completed: {act_response.data.result.message}")

            # Keyboard input (using Playwright)
            page.keyboard.press("Enter")

            # Wait for results
            page.wait_for_timeout(2000)

            # Observe elements (using Stagehand API)
            observe_response = client.sessions.observe(
                id=session_id,
                instruction="find all articles",
                x_language="python",
                x_sdk_version=SDK_VERSION,
            )
            results = observe_response.data.result

            if results:
                element = results[0]
                logger.info(f"Found element: {element.description}")

                # Act on observed element
                client.sessions.act(
                    id=session_id,
                    input=element,
                    x_language="python",
                    x_sdk_version=SDK_VERSION,
                )
            else:
                logger.warning("No elements found")

            # Extract data (using Stagehand API with schema)
            extract_response = client.sessions.extract(
                id=session_id,
                instruction="extract the first result from the search",
                schema={
                    "type": "object",
                    "properties": {
                        "title": {"type": "string", "description": "Result title"},
                        "url": {"type": "string", "description": "Result URL"},
                        "snippet": {"type": "string", "description": "Result snippet"},
                    },
                    "required": ["title"],
                },
                x_language="python",
                x_sdk_version=SDK_VERSION,
            )
            logger.info(f"Extracted data: {extract_response.data.result}")

        finally:
            # Clean up Playwright
            browser.close()

            # End the Stagehand session
            client.sessions.end(
                id=session_id,
                x_language="python",
                x_sdk_version=SDK_VERSION,
            )
            logger.info("Session ended")

if __name__ == "__main__":
    main()

Quick Reference: Method Mapping

Old SDK	New SDK
`Stagehand(config)`	`Stagehand(browserbase_api_key=..., ...)`
`await stagehand.init()`	`client.sessions.start(...)`
`stagehand.page`	Connect Playwright separately
`stagehand.session_id`	`start_response.data.session_id`
`await page.goto(url)`	`page.goto(url)` (Playwright)
`await page.act(instruction)`	`client.sessions.act(id=session_id, input=instruction, ...)`
`await page.observe(instruction)`	`client.sessions.observe(id=session_id, instruction=..., ...)`
`await page.extract(instruction)`	`client.sessions.extract(id=session_id, instruction=..., schema=..., ...)`
`await stagehand.close()`	`browser.close()` + `client.sessions.end(id=session_id, ...)`
`configure_logging(...)`	Use standard `logging` module

Troubleshooting

Session not found errors

Ensure you’re using the correct session_id returned from client.sessions.start().

Playwright connection issues

Make sure your Browserbase API key has the correct permissions and the session is still active.

Missing x_language and x_sdk_version parameters

These are required for all session operations. Use x_language="python" and x_sdk_version="3.0.6" (or the latest version).

Extraction returns unexpected format

The new SDK requires an explicit JSON schema. Make sure your schema matches the expected output structure.

Need Help?

Documentation

Full Stagehand documentation

Browserbase Docs

Browserbase documentation

GitHub Issues

Report issues or get help

First Steps

The Basics

Configuration

Best Practices

Integrations

Reference

Migration Guides

Overview of Changes

BYOB Architecture

Session-Based API

Multi-Browser Control

Simplified Client

Current Limitations

Step-by-Step Migration

1. Update Imports

2. Client Initialization

3. Navigation

4. Direct Page Interactions (Playwright)

5. AI-Powered Actions (`act`)

Acting on an Observed Element

6. Observing Elements (`observe`)

7. Extracting Data (`extract`)

8. Closing the Session

9. Async vs Sync

Complete Migration Example

Quick Reference: Method Mapping

Troubleshooting

Need Help?

Documentation

Browserbase Docs

GitHub Issues

First Steps

The Basics

Configuration

Best Practices

Integrations

Reference

Migration Guides

​Overview of Changes

BYOB Architecture

Session-Based API

Multi-Browser Control

Simplified Client

​Current Limitations

​Step-by-Step Migration

​1. Update Imports

​2. Client Initialization

​3. Navigation

​4. Direct Page Interactions (Playwright)

​5. AI-Powered Actions (act)

​Acting on an Observed Element

​6. Observing Elements (observe)

​7. Extracting Data (extract)

​8. Closing the Session

​9. Async vs Sync

​Complete Migration Example

​Quick Reference: Method Mapping

​Troubleshooting

​Need Help?

Documentation

Browserbase Docs

GitHub Issues

Overview of Changes

Current Limitations

Step-by-Step Migration

1. Update Imports

2. Client Initialization

3. Navigation

4. Direct Page Interactions (Playwright)

5. AI-Powered Actions (`act`)

Acting on an Observed Element

6. Observing Elements (`observe`)

7. Extracting Data (`extract`)

8. Closing the Session

9. Async vs Sync

Complete Migration Example

Quick Reference: Method Mapping

Troubleshooting

Need Help?